Music's in My Soul

Greetings followers! (what's left of you).

It's been a minute. This is my first comeback post. 

“How is it that music can, without words, evoke our laughter, our fears, our highest aspirations?” ― Jane Swan

                           Print by Michael Tompsett

First, I would like to preface this by saying I am not a music critic. I am not well-trained. I don't know how to describe music artfully. I just know what I like and what shaped the person I am. 

Here I am, sitting on my couch, a loss for words about this thing that's made our lives. I just listened to the new Jonas album and saw Rocketman this week, so I felt the need to make a post about music. So what do I do? I turn on the Beatles. The genesis of modern music. My boyfriend is Beatles-crazy, but I'll admit I haven't connected to them much in recent years. Of course, the Paul McCartney Carpool Karaoke reignited Beatlemania when that came out, but other than that, I was content with seldom listening to the Beatles.

 by Ahmad Nusyirwan 

But then I was just watching a video Paul McCartney shot for GQ where he discussed the origin of his most influential songs, and I remembered why I was so taken with the Beatles at 13, 40 years after they were first famous.  My mom used to have the "Number 1's" album and she would play it in her car, much to my sister's and my chagrin initially, then delight. My independent performance "career" started when I choreographed my own routine to "Eight Days a Week" and dressed like an OG hippie.  When I took voice lessons, one of our recitals was ALL Beatles. I sang a solo to "Eleanor Rigby," which looking back is quite odd for a 15-year to sing a solo about a lonely spinster. I guess it appealed to my lonely spinster side (doesn't every woman have one?) 


My music obsession manifested when I was 2, around the same time I learned to read probably (I was an evolved toddler). I had a Playskool boombox and a pretty rad collection of tapes. I would lay on the floor at my aunt's house with my (now) uncle and listen to music on that thing. I took it with me at 3 years old on an 8-hour flight to London and listened to the original Cinderella soundtrack the entire time. (Sorry 1995 passengers).


I had a Walkman at around 9, and an iPod at 13. I would listen to everything from Shania Twain to "Accidentally in Love" (my teen angst song) to Disney to the Beatles. Music provided solace for my troubled, sad heart. 

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Okay, enough nostalgia. It's time for some reviews. 

It's been a week since the newest Jonas Brothers album came out. I just listened to most of it last night. It was quite a comeback. The different melodies and sounds are different but stayed true to their sound. I feel like I'm listening to a refined version of the pop-tastic band I fell in love with at 15.   I remember when they first released "Sucker" and did #LateLateJonas in March, I was concerned. I was like "They are men. Husbands. Fathers (well Kevin is). Is this really necessary? Do they have it in them?" Then I watched Jonas Carpool Karaoke and their performance of Sucker. (Spoiler alert: they're back.) If you watch the talk show interviews, Nick has totally become the leader. In their Disney days, Joe was the leader. Interesting paradigm shift. I'm quite excited for August 9th when my amazing friend is taking me to their concert. 
 P.S. Yes, the name of this post is taken from a Jonas Brothers song (Play My Music). 

It's been about a month since Rocketman came out. I just saw that on Wednesday. Again, from the opening scene, I remembered why I loved Elton John at 15. (Side note: the little kids at the beginning of the movie should win Junior Oscars.) They seamlessly incorporated Elton's most powerful songs in all the key events of his eventful life. Taron Egerton absolutely SLAYED, and I love the actor who played Bernie, Elton's writing partner. I just don't even know what else to say except that even my picky film critic boyfriend loved it. I will say the movie was VERY stark. Samoa banned it for gay sex, and I was slightly freaked out by the snorting. So there's those 2 caveats. 

"Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours." 
- Elton John 
Read more at  https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/music

                                                   
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* I find it interesting that all the artists I featured in this post have done Carpool Karaoke lol. It's prolific. 

What are your influences of music? What are your memories? Leave some thoughts in the comments. 

Stay tuned for my next post (I promise it will not take a year to come out! 🙈)

Shame

Hester Prynne is probably the most oversimplified but misunderstood character in literature.* 

OK so maybe not the most, but 
A) I'm prone to hyperbole, and 
B) I'm not familiar with every literary character. 

But I digress. 

That woman went through complete, utter hell. 

Because of her one mistake, she was barred from society. 

Because of her one indiscretion, she was forced to wear evidence of her mistake every day, in public, subject to ridicule. 

At least that scarlet "A" forced her to make peace with herself and come to grips with her mistake. Also, it would seem that the "A" also caused her to own up to her mistakes and have confidence in her choices, as evidenced in this passage. Plus, she conceived a beautiful child out of that ugly mess. (That would certainly be easier if it were the case with me. Children make all parts of my life better). 

Is a public display of your mistake easier than having an unseen "A"? Like a dark hand choking out your confidence and self-worth, it is very difficult to overcome the feeling of shame. I We are haunted by our mistake every time something remotely related to the indiscretion surfaces. I am You are terrified that someone will mention or reference it and the feelings will be renewed. 

I guess I we can learn something from Hester. Don't let your mistakes cause you to compromise your self-worth, and don't let shame overtake your acceptance of your choices.

QUOP: "In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A."                                                                 - Nathaniel Hawthore, The Scarlet Letter, Chapter 2

*It's also been a long time since I read The Scarlet Letter, so forgive me if my plot points are a little off. 

#NeverAgain: The Story of [Today]

Buckle up. It's about to get political passionate. 

I have a problem with guns. I have an issue with the way they're used, how little they are taken seriously, and how easily they can be obtained. I understand there are several responsible gun-owning citizens in this country. I know a caring family who supported me when I had no one else around who are responsible with their guns. 

However, they aren't the problem here. 

The problem is when mentally unstable and irresponsible people get ahold of weapons of mass destruction (Yes, I'm aware that guns aren't typically classified as that, but clearly they are). 

The problem is when teachers have to show their students what to do if there's an unknown person in the school building and kids are so scared they're shaking and crying in the 5 minutes of silence it took for us to have a drill. The problem is that morale in this society is so low that we don't value human life over the almighty dollar.  

I stand with these Parkland students. I am proud to be a Floridian. "History has its eyes on [us]" because we are where this movement started. I thank my favorite artists for whom I have immense respect for putting together a beautiful musical message of hope and solidarity. 

It's no secret I bleed blue. But that doesn't matter. To quote one of these brave students: 

"This is not a race issue, a religious issue, and it's definitely not a political issue. This is a morality issue." (QUOP)